Donald Trump is Not Who We Are

To defeat Donald Trump, we need to build a movement from the bottom-up, in every corner of the country. We can’t leave it to politicians or the media - it’s up to us to take a stand and to protect our friends and co-workers most at risk from mass deportations, religious bans and other forms of hate.

Starting an open letter is a powerful way to show that patriotic Americans are coming together, from all walks of life, all political beliefs and all racial and religious backgrounds, to affirm the values that make us who we are: diversity, openness and compassion.

Take a stand against Trump's brand of hate: Create an open letter to rally members of your company, place of worship, civic or affinity group to say, “Donald Trump is Not Who We Are”.

Once you’ve launched your open letter, we will be with you every step of the way, from getting your colleagues to sign on to getting your letter media attention so you can have the most impact.

Campaigns (72)

Having proudly served our country, we at Vets Against Trump understand that a key principle to America's history of successes and accomplishments is our openness — our unwavering ideal to receive opinions and cultures different from our own —, knowing that the advancement of all is best achieved through the integration of a variety of experiences, that our wisdom grows by acknowledging the diversity of our backgrounds.
"E pluribus unum" has been one of our nation's mottos for centuries. This is not just a recommendation from our forefathers, it is a mantra we must be constantly reminded of, especially when confronted with people such as Donald Trump who thirst for power and want to reach it by means of ridiculing and dividing, when what we need is healing and embracing.
We must honor our culture of inclusiveness — Donald Trump wants to ignore valuable inputs. When Trump says he wants to secure our borders, he’s actually saying that he wants to stereotype Mexicans as rapists.
We have to grow and mature as a multicultural entity — Donald Trump appeals to severing limbs he deems unworthy.
We need to empower our communities — Donald Trump aims to divide us.
We must stand together against bigots and intolerants like Donald Trump.

Science is essential for guiding public policy. Responsible policymakers of both parties have, for decades, relied on scientific advice and expertise to inform their decision-making. Because of the importance of science to our country’s well-being, it is critical that candidates and their advisors reflect the best scientific thinking.
As members of the scientific community, we feel the need to speak out because one presidential candidate transcends politics, policy, and ideology with his embrace of conspiracy theories, anti-science attitudes, and disregard for experts. We believe it is appropriate to warn our fellow citizens about the risks associated with elevating Donald Trump to the presidency. We urge our peers to join us in making it clear that Mr. Trump’s statements are not only at odds with scientific reality, but represent a dangerous rejection of scientific thinking.
Donald Trump is Not Who We Are.
For example:
Vaccines save lives every day, but Mr. Trump has stoked(1) discredited fears about vaccines and autism and accused(2) doctors of lying to people about them.
Every major country on Earth is adapting to a changing climate and reducing emissions from fossil fuels, but Mr. Trump has claimed it is a hoax(3), a statement that prompted a response(4) from hundreds of members of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the country’s leading scientific advisory body.
Mr. Trump’s running mate, Mike Pence, has a similarly disconcerting record:
He also dismisses(5) the evidence that climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels.
He delivered a speech to the House of Representatives challenging(6) the teaching of evolutionary science in classrooms based on a misreading of how evolution works.
Nearly 40 years after the Surgeon General first warned us about the dangers of smoking, Pence claimed that(7) “smoking doesn’t kill” and said there was no direct link(8) between smoking and lung disease.
These are not the words and thoughts of responsible leaders.
American scientific advances have cured diseases, fed billions, created new industries and landed astronauts on the Moon. Today, the president manages agencies that collectively employ thousands of scientists charged with critical tasks, from monitoring our air and water quality to testing new medicines, to managing our nuclear weapons stockpiles.
People who embrace conspiracy theories, spread misinformation, and dismiss science should have no place in our government.
We all have different political backgrounds and this isn’t about partisan politics for us.
As Americans - and as members of the scientific community - Donald Trump is simply not who we are.
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(1) http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2015/09/16/cnn-reagan-library-debate-later-debate-full-transcript/
(2) https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/507158574670573568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
(3) https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/427556692109574146?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
(4) http://responsiblescientists.org/
(5) https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/07/14/watch-mike-pence-trumps-likely-vp-pick-question-global-warming-and-demur-on-evolution/?utm_term=.f4afd000d16f
(6) https://www.congress.gov/congressional-record/2002/7/11/house-section/article/h4527-1?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22%5C%22mike+pence%5C%22%22%5D%7D&resultIndex=190
(7) https://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/smoking-doesnt-kill-and-other-great-old-op-eds-from-mike-pen?utm_term=.asDPab4y9D#.uxyYBAXME6
(8) https://www.buzzfeed.com/andrewkaczynski/mike-pence-defended-his-smoking-doesnt-kill-op-ed-in-a-2000?utm_term=.np5bmlwYyv#.prnR6P4eNY

This is important as a member of the Autism community...As a person with Aspergers Syndrome, I was extremely offended when Donald called a well-known and hard working reporter a liar, let alone mocked him in public in front of thousands and possibly millions of people. Having Aspergers, I too have a disability and know what it's like when people bring you down. Little do many people across the U.S. know that many people with disabilities and autism are being hired everyday, due to their constant routines and hard work. Most importantly, they are known to be good at what they do and are honest about it, because they want to show what they can do and are proud of it. As a person with autism and disabilities, I want people to notice me by what I can do and not what I can't do. I want a leader that can see what we can do to make a difference in the world. I want a leader who can take us seriously at what we do. I want a leader that believes in us all, no matter how different we may be. I don't want Donald Trump.

This is important as Catholics because we believe in welcoming the stranger, and caring for the least among these. Donald Trump's rhetoric is hateful and racist and he does not speak for me as a Catholic or as an American.

We have an opportunity, as residents of Florida--and ultimately the United States--to deliver the message that this behavior is not acceptable of any American, whether elected to office or not. Send the message to the Republican Party that progress is made by bravely moving forward to address challenges; we cannot advance by fearfully retreating into a bigoted past.

The PGA of America represents over 27,000 club/teaching professionals and organizes the Ryder Cup but still is committed to hosting two major championships at Trump golf properties. The first is the 2017 PGA Senior Championship at Trump National Golf Club DC (VA), and the second is the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump National Bedminster. The PGA supposedly is committed to growing the game yet it closely associates with someone who revels in exclusivity.
Likewise, the U. S. Women's Open (a major championship of the USGA) is scheduled for Trump National Bedminster (NJ) in July 2017. Considering Trump's public denigration and demeaning of women, the choice of site is unjustifiable on moral and ethical grounds. The same applies to his negative characterizations of immigrants, Mexicans, and Muslims. Women's professional golf is highly diverse and represented by players of all manner of nationalities, ethnicities, and religions. As an international arbiter of golf, the USGA should do better by its responsibility to promote the best values of golf.
Golf is far more than a game. It is a 70 billion dollar industry with extensive corporate partnerships and sponsors. The endorsement of this letter by the Culinary Workers Union because of Trump's refusal to negotiate with largely female and Latino unionized workers at his Las Vegas hotel indicates the economic overlap between golf and the hospitality industry. Trump's significant financial investment in golf and hospitality seems to have blinded some in both industries not only to his detrimental effect outside the game but in it as well.
Aggrieved members of his Jupiter, FL golf club have sued him, he has stiffed contractors at another golf property, and at least one municipality has complained publicly about not receiving its fair share of tax revenues from his course.
Trump is not even good for golf let alone America. Your support of this letter can make clear that Donald Trump is Not Who We Are.

As members of the Hofstra community, we strongly stand against Donald J Trump’s divisive and damaging rhetoric.
In modern history, there has never been a serious presidential candidate as reckless and divisive as Donald J Trump. No modern presidential candidate has done more to increase tensions domestically and cause unease with our allies abroad. Mr. Trump has praised dictators and has damned our own president. He degrades women, claimed that an entire racial group were rapists and murderers, claimed a federal judge couldn’t do his job because of his ethnic background, made fun of a disabled reporter who was critical of him, attacked a gold star family, and insulted strong women who stood up to his brand of schoolyard bullying. Mr. Trump claims to have a plan to defeat ISIS but has not told us what that plan would entail. He has openly advocated for committing war crimes, the torture of prisoners and has openly admired Vladimir Putin. Mr. Trump’s rhetoric has sent shock waves through our NATO allies and has caused our allies in the Baltic to worry that if Russia was to invade their territory President Trump would just leave them on their own. In addition, Mr. Trump’s rhetoric has damaged our fragile relationships in the Middle East and has given our enemies plenty of material to use in their recruitment process.
A Trump presidency would reverse all the progress our nation has made and bring us back to the times of racial segregation and gender discrimination. Mr. Trump’s rhetoric has done nothing but inflamed racial prejudices. He has taken every tragedy that has happened domestically and abroad and made it about himself to inflate his ego even more.
As a community, Hofstra has worked to root out racism, sexism, and xenophobia, the very ideas Mr. Trump has used to get where he is today. His hateful rhetoric and complete disrespect for his fellow citizens are why we, as members of the Hofstra community, stand up against Donald J Trump’s run for president.

Both Trump and his campaign officials have responded by trying to claim that he “didn’t know the man was disabled,” but the evidence in that video is undeniable. In the video, the disgusting hand-flapping routine associated with stereotypes of the “spastic” and the “retard” was obviously an un-presidential, insensitive reaction aimed at shaming a disabled body. Whether or not he knew that the man had a physical disability is irrelevant, since he was still performing a cruel and ignorant caricature of disability. His cruel rhetoric not only denies dignity to all who are disabled and who struggle for public presence so that they may make their voices heard; it also reinforces trauma experienced by people who have already suffered various forms of abuse, and those with PTSD such as survivors and veterans. Coupled with his other well-documented instances of hateful speech and negative stereotyping aimed at women, immigrants, and ethnic, racial, and religious minorities, Trump’s shameless ableism renders disabled individuals with intersectional identities especially vulnerable to additional physical and rhetorical violence.
We all know that the Serge Kovalesky incident is only one small example of the kind of bullying hate speech from which Donald Trump has built a public platform. We write now to say that we must stand against his words and the harm they inflict. Not only do words matter, but they cause real harm to individuals and communities in this country. Donald Trump has already harmed so many vulnerable Americans with his dangerous words and actions. We must not allow such a man to assume our nation’s highest office.
Sara Biggs Chaney
Lecturer, Dartmouth College
Christina V. Cedillo
Assistant Professor, University of Houston-Clear Lake
Margaret Price
Associate Professor, The Ohio State University
Stephanie Kerschbaum
Associate Professor, University of Delaware
Anne-Marie Womack
Professor of Practice, Tulane University
Cynthia Lewiecki-Wilson
Professor of English, Emerita
Miami University
N. Renuka Uthappa
Wayne State University
Marissa G Michael
First-Year Writing Program
Carnegie Mellon University
Patricia A. Dunn
Professor of English, Stony Brook University, New York
Geoff Clegg
Lecturer, Penn State University
Amy Vidali
Associate Professor of English
University of Colorado-- Denver
Dev K. Bose
Assistant Professor of English
University of Arizona
Crystal Benedicks
Assistant Professor of English
Coordinator of Writing Across the Curriculum
Wabash College